The Future of Rural Retail
Plunkett UK is consulting with a wide range of stakeholders to better understand the challenges of rural community shops and identify solutions to help them become more resilient, thriving and inclusive for the future.
The situation
When the early community shops were established 25 years ago, their key role centred around access to food for people in rural communities – bringing a vital lifeline of basic groceries. Today, following the explosion of supermarket delivery services, many community shops have innovated to become more than a traditional convenience grocery store.
Recently, changes within the wholesale and distribution industries have put at risk the ability for some community shops to continue sourcing core grocery goods. This has led us to consider rural retailing, specifically community-owned shops: the issues they face, the solutions needed and, ultimately, what the future may look like.
Our response
Plunkett UK has consulted 17 key organisations in UK rural retailing – grocery suppliers, support organisations, fellow retailers, wholesalers, government – regarding the future of the sector.
They have told us their experiences, made suggestions about the evolving shape of rural retail and proposed some solutions.
We have also consulted the Plunkett Adviser Team – a network of industry experts – and invited them to reflect on the thoughts of both community shop and wider retail network insights.
Hearing from community shops representatives
In February and March, we have hosted five workshops to hear the opinions, thoughts, ideas and experiences of community retailers across the UK. Together, we’ve asked: what should the future of rural retailing look like?
In total, more than 80 attendees representing community shops have attended the workshops, with two sessions held online and in-person events in Exeter, Manchester and West Sussex.
Anthropy 2025
We were delighted to hold a Future of Rural Retail workshop at the Eden Project for Anthropy 2025.
As a collective, we explored the core themes that emerged from our taskforce and workshops including opportunities around product range, proposition, services and social impact. These were expertly illustrated by the five speakers who supported the workshop:
- Dame Julia Cleverdon DCVO, CBE (National Lottery Community Fund)
- Sarah Walker-Smith (Amper)
- Charlie Courtenay (Michelmores LLP)
- Edwin Booth CBE DL (Booths and Co)
- Laura Olver (Plunkett UK & Appleton Community Shop).
We were pleased with the warm, engaged and positive response, and grateful for the pledges of support offered.
What happens next?
Content from the event series, alongside short essays, will be used to produce The Future of Rural Retail Report, and accompanying video, which will be published in June 2025. This will mould the work undertaken by Plunkett to support 400+ community shops nationwide.
We can let you know when the report is available – simply click the button below and leave your email address.
The Future of Rural Retail Report is generously funded by Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
